Mobility Might Be the Most Misunderstood Part of Training
Mobility Might Be the Most Misunderstood Part of Training
Somewhere along the way, mobility became synonymous with:
extreme flexibility
long static stretching routines
contorting into positions no real human actually needs
And while that might look impressive on Instagram, it’s rarely useful in real life.
Because mobility isn’t about how far you can move.
It’s about how well you can move—into and out of neutral—and through the usable ranges of motion that support:
training
moving efficiently
handling daily life
and feeling good doing it
Mobility is usable movement, not maximum movement.
What Do You Actually Need to Be Able to Do?
Ask yourself this:
What do you want your body to handle well?
You need to be able to:
squat
hinge
lunge
push
pull
carry
rotate
You want to get up and down off the floor without thinking about it.
You want to participate in sports and hobbies.
You want to train consistently without pain.
That’s mobility.
Not touching your toes.
Not putting your foot behind your head.
(If that’s a goal of yours, amazing—just know it requires far more time and more advanced methods.)
Mobility vs. Flexibility (They’re Not the Same)
This is where most people get tripped up.
Flexibility is the passive ability of muscles to lengthen.
Mobility is the active ability to control movement through a range of motion.
You can be flexible and still unstable.
You can be flexible and still in pain.
You can be flexible and still move inefficiently.
Mobility requires:
strength
coordination
nervous system control
joint integrity
In other words: mobility is strength you can use.
This is why mobility becomes more important—not less—as you age.
We don’t lose independence because we can’t stretch.
We lose it because we can’t:
control our movement
generate force safely
decelerate and stabilize
recover well
Mobility is a longevity skill, not a party trick.
Mobility, Injuries, and Listening to Your Body
This is where mobility becomes especially important.
Mobility can be a powerful tool for:
reducing joint stress
improving movement quality after injury
restoring confidence in your body
and helping you train around limitations instead of constantly fighting them
But it has to be personalized.
I’ll be honest with you—before I started intentionally incorporating mobility into my own training about six years ago, I couldn’t do half of what I can do now.
And even now?
I still can’t move like a lot of the trainers and influencers you see online.
Here’s why:
many of them are in their 20s or 30s
many haven’t had knee injuries
many haven’t dealt with surgeries, setbacks, or joint limitations
I have.
So if you’re comparing your movement to someone on Instagram—stop right there.
Your mobility journey isn’t about matching someone else’s range of motion.
It’s about improving yours, safely and sustainably.
Mobility should help you feel better, not beat up.
It should support healing, not ignore pain signals.
That’s why listening to your body matters—and why good mobility work adapts to you, not the other way around.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You just need to start.
You Don’t Need More Time — You Need Better Programming
You’re already choosing to spend 1–3 hours per week training.
You don’t need hours of extra stretching layered on top of that.
Effective mobility doesn’t live in a stretching corner.
It lives inside smart programming.
To move well and train for life, your body needs to:
access the ranges of motion required for training
control those ranges neurologically
build strength across the ranges you can access
improve posture and movement efficiency
That doesn’t happen with static stretching alone.
What Real Mobility Training Looks Like
The most effective mobility approach:
integrates mobility into the workouts you already do
layers mobility strategies throughout the session
adds extra “homework” only when it’s truly needed
In practice, that looks like:
soft tissue work and dynamic mobility in the warm-up
mobility-based correctives built into warm-ups or intelligent supersets
in-session strategies such as:
eccentric-focused tempos to build strength at length
pauses and holds in beneficial positions
supersets that challenge muscles at different lengths and angles
extended-range variations (when appropriate), like deficit lunges or stretch push-ups
In short:
A proper warm-up.
Targeted in-session strategies.
Efficient recovery tools.
Optional daily movement maintenance.
How We Train Mobility at inMotion
At inMotion, mobility isn’t an afterthought—and it’s not a separate class you have to add on.
It’s built directly into our M7 Movement Method and shows up in every workout.
That means:
you’re preparing your joints and tissues before you load them
you’re building strength through usable ranges of motion
you’re reinforcing better posture and movement patterns as you train
and you’re supporting long-term joint health and injury resilience
Mobility isn’t something we do instead of strength.
It’s something we train alongside it—so your body stays capable, resilient, and confident for life.
The Big Picture
Mobility isn’t something you tack on after your workout.
It’s something you train through.
And when it’s programmed correctly, it helps you:
move better
lift stronger
feel better
stay active longer
Because mobility isn’t about doing more.
It’s about doing what actually matters—for performance, longevity, injury resilience, and real life.
